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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27796717">The Stage Is Where My Heart Sings</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltmilea/pseuds/saltmilea'>saltmilea</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>A3! (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Childhood Friends, Gen, Hurt/Comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 15:20:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>868</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27796717</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltmilea/pseuds/saltmilea</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tsumugi Tsukioka learns the thrilling feeling of flying after falling.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Takatoo Tasuku &amp; Tsukioka Tsumugi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Stage Is Where My Heart Sings</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Ta-chan!" The boy laughs merrily to his friend, hands clad in new multicolored knitted gloves, cheeks pink from the cold and yet his smile stays wide as his friend turns around, quickly catching him when he accidentally trips on some snow covered rocks.</p>
<p>"Tsumu... Be careful..." His friend lifts him back up, shaking off the snow that decided to build up on his coat.</p>
<p>"Hehe... Sorry~" He said, looking up to him but feeling no remorse at all.</p>
<p>"Tch- Anyway, wanna build a snowman? The kid next door invited us to make one," the boy tilts his head, "said something like how 'I had more XP points on my strength stat?' Don't know... Don't remember..." He laughs as the boy in front of him gets confused yet again with their neighbours weird language. "Anyway, back to the point. You in, Tsumu?"</p>
<p>"Mhm~ Making snowmans is always fun!" </p>
<p>"Then let's get going." The taller boy takes his hand and grips it tight enough so he wouldn't get lost.</p>
<p>A few moments pass and he grins. "You're also excited about this, aren't you, Ta-chan?"</p>
<p>"What do you mean?"</p>
<p>"You're walking faster than normal~" He sees the boy in front of him flush in embarrassment.</p>
<p>"I'm not!"</p>
<p>"Yes you are!"</p>
<p>"Nuh uh~"</p>
<p>"Mhm! Lying isn't good, Ta-chan~"</p>
<p>"Nuh, I'm not lying!"</p>
<p>"Then why are you talking faster?"</p>
<p>He turns around and opens his mouth in a loss before sticking out his tongue, and childishly making a raspberry with his free arm. "You win this one, Tsumu."</p>
<p>"Bleh~!" He giggles, his heart light and airy.</p>
<p>———</p>
<p>"Have you ever thought about your future, Tsumu?" He feels the bench creaked with the added weight, smiling as his friend was being considerate about the hand he was absolutely going to sit on if he wasn't careful.</p>
<p>"Future, huh? Ack- Cold!" He takes the canned drink pressed to his cheek and kicks his friend with his left leg.</p>
<p>"Yeah. The future." His friend pulls on the tab, the drink opening with a soft hiss, "because honestly... I think I can't imagine a future without acting." He sees him drink half of it quickly, wiping his mouth out of the excess sugar. "Why the fuck do you keep drinking this, Tsumu? It's so sweet... I'm concerned about your health."</p>
<p>He opens his own can, drinking it slowly to savor its taste. "Why did you even buy it if you already knew how sweet it was, Ta-chan~" He laughs at the look of disgust masked on his friend's face. "But the feeling of being on stage, of being able to be a completely different person, isn't that why we were so drawn to acting?" He looks up at the orange sky, his eyes shining bright.</p>
<p>"Do you wanna pursue acting with me, Ta-chan?"</p>
<p>———</p>
<p>The biting cold wind of winter briefly touches his cheek, brushing through his hair in a siren's call for warmth. Even with the new coat he wore, he still shivered as the air beckoned him to places filled with laughter. Sounds of drinks and cheers from the bar he passed, moving easily once the door that blocks their excitement was left ajar. </p>
<p>The end of December had always been rough on him, but he thinks it's even worse for a lot of people, especially those who didn't have homes to come back to. Poor souls trapped under a capitalistic prison, never even allowed to get up from where they are.</p>
<p>He takes out a few yen for some passing entertainers and smiles at them, giving them quick compliments about their music. And when they started to vigorously bow at him, he felt his heart squeeze and clench, the smile on his face turning forced, his eyebrows softly furrowing to the middle of his forehead.</p>
<p>'Reminds me of that time...' Once such a precious memory he'd cling onto, even grinning as he light heartedly punched the gym junkie he'd considered a friend. </p>
<p>He shook his head. There's no point in chasing after something he's thrown away, especially something he thought he'd keep on doing. Running away from a passion that always sparked him with such wondrous excitement, yet now, it drains him to no end when everyday he thinks of the hurt, no, the anger that crossed the other's face when he said he was quitting.</p>
<p>He really was right when he called him a coward.</p>
<p>———</p>
<p>His fingers tingle and he feels funny, his eyes and nose familiarly burning as he feels tears slowly starting to fall down. His heart is racing wildly and his body isn't cooperating well enough with how much adrenaline it's pumping out.</p>
<p>His face hurts. His face hurts but he couldn't stop the smile planted on his face.</p>
<p>'It's exhilarating.' He remembers his past self saying. 'The stage is where I belong.' </p>
<p>As he hugs his troupe mates— His friends, he corrected, he feels like he never left the place he was always meant to be in.</p>
<p>And maybe he never actually did, nights where he'd recite old lines to the moon wistfully, imagining it as the sole audience who'd clap after every 'play' through the tiny window of his apartment.</p>
<p>He grins with new vigor.</p>
<p>Indeed, acting is really fun..</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Kudos and comments make me really happy and, I'm not gonna lie... This was for a friend who's a fan of TsTm so this is the first time I've ever written Tsumugi... I hope he didn't come off as OOC! I appreciate constructive criticism and I hope anyone reading this is having a good day!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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